UC Santa Barbara postpones final exams because of wildfires

Updated 7:13 pm, Sunday, December 10, 2017

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The Thomas Fire flared up again Saturday evening and is now aggressively moving into Santa Barbara County.

Media: FoxM9NJ

The UC Santa Barbara chancellor postponed final exams Sunday evening, a day before they were scheduled to begin, because of the growing Thomas Fire that’s sent smoke and false alarms into the university.

Tests that were set to start Monday will instead take place the week of Jan. 8, Chancellor Henry Yang said in a letter to students. He cited an accidental late-night evacuation notice, poor air quality, concerns about power outages and jammed-up transportation in postponing the exams.

“Continuation of scheduled exams has become untenable,” Yang said. “Though there is no need to evacuate campus, again, we are recommending that students make arrangements to leave.”

Students will now take their finals when their winter quarter classes were scheduled to begin — the week of Jan. 16. The quarter will be pushed back and shortened by one week, according to an FAQ distributed by the campus.